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21 Times the Academy Awards Got It Wrong

Remember when that bad movie won instead of that good one?

liam-mathews
Liam Mathews

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is famous for getting it wrong. For every time the most deserving movie has won an Oscar, there are roughly three instances where the best movie, performance, or behind-the-scenes person has been passed over in favor of something less deserving. The list of weak winners is long and infamous: Crash took home best picture over Brokeback Mountain, Dances With Wolves bested Goodfellas, How Green Was My Valley was somehow honored over Citizen Kane, and the list goes on. Just about everyone has their own pet grievance over "how could they have chosen this over that?" because, yeah, it's that common an occurrence.

The 92nd Academy Awards are already poised to follow suit in ticking some film fans off, especially when it comes to that all-male nominations list for best director. Before we get to that inevitable rage party, though, let's take a look back at all of the other times the Academy has erred in awarding its precious prizes to the year's actual best in film.

2020 Oscars: Everything to Know About the 92nd Academy Awards

In the gallery below, we've compiled 21 of the most egregious examples of the Oscars being awarded to the wrong person or movie. The list runs the gamut from the understandable but mildly disappointing to the truly galling. Click through the gallery below to be reminded of all the times the Oscars made the wrong call -- or disagree with our picks. Who knows, maybe you think Forrest Gump is better than Pulp Fiction!

The 92nd Academy Awards air Sunday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.

PHOTOS: 21 Times the Oscars Got It Wrong

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Mahersala Ali and Viggo Mortensen in Green Book

Universal